Multi-purpose support element



March 31, 1964 F. s. WARNER 3,127,144

MULTI-PURPOSE SUPPORT ELEMENT Filed Sept. 21. 1961 I/IWENTOR Frederick 8. Warner ATTORNE Y3 United States Patent 3,127,144 MULTI-PURPOSE SUPPORT ELEMENT Frederick S. Warner, 1639 S. Ridgeland Ave., Berwyn, Ill.

Filed Sept. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 141,238 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-2.16)

My invention relates to a novel support element which has many fields of utility in workshops, the home and elsewhere, since it can be used as a tool hanger, shelf or flowerpot support, and for many other purposes too numerous to mention.

Briefly and generally stated, the invention has for its primary object to provide a device, for the purposes specified, which can be conveniently applied to and effectively supported by two angularly disposed surfaces of such as interior or exterior building walls, joists, columns, ladder rails, posts, etc., and regardless of the material from which same are formed.

Additionally the invention, in its more limited aspects, contemplates a support element as characterized which, in its operative position, will be pivoted to one of two intersecting wall surfaces and sustained by the other surface so that it can be rocked to and from operative position to facilitate installation or removal and for other purposes, such as when temporary clearance is desired.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an item as set forth which is strong and durable, highly efficient in practical use, and is so simple in formation that it can be readily and cheaply manufactured in quantity.

Other objects and advantages of my advance in the art will be readily apparent as the description of the several illustrated embodiments proceeds.

As required by the patent statute, the accompanying drawing discloses certain now preferred examples of the invention. However, the drawing disclosures are to be taken as illustrative rather than limitative, since it will be obvious that my inventive concept is susceptible of other mechanical expressions within the spirit and scope of the subject matter claimed hereinafter.

In the drawing wherein the same reference characters have been used to designate the same parts wherever they appear in the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one of my support elements for use as a shelf support, for instance, and having a pointed pivot-providing portion to be driven into a wall surface;

FIG. 2 illustrates the device of FIG. 1 in top plane and applied to a wooden upright, which latter is shown in section;

FIG. 3 illustrates two of the FIGS. 1 and 2 support elements, modified to provide hook ends, and applied to an upright, the lower one of said elements being shown in its operative article-supporting position and the upper one rocked upwardly therefrom;

FIG. 4 iilustrates the wooden column-supported device of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 but modified to provide a flowerpotsupporting annulus at its outer end;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of a modified form of the support applied to a metal channel-form column; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 5 showing a further modification of the device applied to the corner of a masonry wall.

Referring to the drawing by references characters and turning to FIGS. l4, inclusive, numeral 7 indicates generally one form of my novel support element which is adapted for application to columns, posts, walls, etc., of wood or analogous material. The device is seen to comprise an article-supporting arm 8 which is bent as 9 to provide the U-form inner end 10. This U-form inner end 10 provides the legs 11 and 12 and the bight por- 3,127,144 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 tion 13, the leg 11 providing, as shown, part of the bend 9 which terminates in article-supporting arm 8.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the leg 12 of the U-form end portion 10 is preferably longer than the leg 11 and has its free end pointed as at 12a so that it can be driven into a wooden column 15 from side surface 15a of the latter. In this connection, it is to be noted that the bight portion 13 of U-forrn portion 10 serves as a striking surface for a hammer, mallet, or the like. An elongated pointed leg 12 provides a better anchoring connection with post 15 than would otherwise be the case; and under some circumstances a pivot in post hole 14 as will be presently understood. A hole 14 in post or column 15 can be pre-drilled if desired; but when this is done it must be diametrically smaller than leg 12 so as to assure of a close fit of the latter therein. The bearing of leg 11 against the frontal surface 15b of upright 15 cooperates with leg 12 to sustain the device in its operative position shown in FIG. 2 and in the lower part of FIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the leg 12 provides a pivot support for unit 7 since it is driven into the surface 15a of upright 15 at a distance from its frontal surface 15b which is less than the interior spacement of the legs 11, 12 of the 'U-form portion 10. This is done so that the article-supporting arm portion 8 of the unit 7 can be swung upwardly about leg 12 from its operative position (see lower unit 7, FIG. 3) to an elevated position that is indicated by the upper unit of FIG. 3.

There are many advantages of the pivoted supporting unit 7 indicated in FIG. 3, which permits movement of the arm 8 carried portion upwardly. For instance, if it is desired to remove the unit 7 from the post 15, upward and downward rocking of same while inserting a screwdriver between the bight 13 and the wall surface 15a will facilitate removal of the unit from the post 15.

Also when the outer end of the article-supporting arm 8 is constituted as a hook 8x (FIG. 3) for the support of, for instance, a tool (not shown) having a handle and aperture, it will frequently be desirable to obtain clearance between the upper and lower units 7 of FIG. 3 by swinging the top one upwardly.

Another important point to be noted as to the units 7 of FIGS. 14 is that each article-supporting portion 8 thereof is inclined as at 9a at an obtuse upward angle from the leg 11 so as to compensate, or in some instances more than compensate, for the counterclockwise lowering of the bight portion 13 and leg 11 to the supporting position of the latter against wall 15b (see lower unit 7, FIG. 3). It will be appreciated that except for the upward inclination of the article-supporting portions 8 with respect to leg 11 the related legs 11 and bights 13, a shelf for instance, supported by two or more arms 8 of FIGS. 1 and 2 or, for that matter the flower pot of FIG. 4, would be disposed at a downward slant instead of being level.

The support units 7 of FIGS. 1-4 differ from one another only in the outer terminal portions of the related article-supporting arms 8. Thus, arms 8 of the FIGS. 1 and 2 are available for shelf or tool supporting purposes, whereas in FIG. 3 hook terminals 8x are provided; and in FIG. 4 the arm terminal is an annulus SW for the support of the flowerpot 16.

Referring to the forms of invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the same reference characters as in FIGS. 1-4 have been used where applicable. The only difference between the FIGS. 5 and 6 forms and the FIGS. 1-4 form is in the particular formation of legs 12 of U-portion 19.

Thus in FIG. 5, leg 12 is shorter than in FIGS. l-4 and is threaded 19 for projection through the hole 18 in one side of the channel form upright 17. Here, the threaded end 19 of the leg 12 receives the washer 21 and the clamp nut 20. As in the case of FIGS. 1-4, the

3 support unit of FIG. 5 is preferably pivoted to the side wall 17a of the channel-form upright 17 and at a distance from its bight wall 1% which is less than the interior distance between the legs 11 and 12 of the unit so as to be pivoted to upright 17 and movable to and from article-supporting position as in FIG. 3.

Referring to the FIG. 6 form, its leg portion 12 is formed with a lag screw-like-incorporating bearing 22 for insertion in a hole 23 in a side 24a of a masonry upright 24. Here the arm-carrying leg 11 engages the frontal surface Z tb to cooperate with leg 12 in supporting the unit as in the earlier described forms of the invention.

It is to be noted, as to FIGS. 5 and 6, that article-supporting arms 8 will be upwardly inclined as at 9a with respect to legs 11 and bights 13 for reasons previously mentioned.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the device can be readily formed in a single continuous operation from a length of steel or other metal rod, making for inexpensive manufacture. Also the unit may take various artistic and attractive forms.

Installation as to all of the units is a very simple matter. Also as to the FIGS. 1-4 forms illustrated, the driving in of the leg 12 to the operative position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, can be achieved without distortion of the U-ends of the units. This is accomplished by simply pressing down on arm 8 to cause leg 11 to bear against the surface 1511 while hammering on bight 13 with a mallet or the like.

Of course there will be instanceswhen upward pivoting of the arm 8 from article-supporting position (see FIG- 3) will not be important. Then the spacement of anchoring legs 12 from the frontal surfaces of the uprights 15, 17, 24 will approximately equal the spacement of U-memher legs 11, 12; and the obtuse upward angle 9a of arm 8 with respect to leg 11 can be reduced or eliminated.

Reverting to FIG. 5, it will be of advantage sometimes to loosen the nut on the threaded portion 19 of leg 12 by holding the nut with a wrench or pair of pliers while elevating the arm 8.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

The combination of an upright member of fibrous material having first and second right angularly disposed and substantially plane faces of substantial width, a multipurpose support element as an article of manufacture and carried by said upright member, said support element comprising an integral heavy rod providing an article-supporting arm constituting one end portion of said rod, a generally U-form mounting portion constituting the other end of said rod and providing a bight portion, the major part of said bight portion lying in a plane parallel to both that of said article-supporting arm and that of the first-mentioned plane face of said upright member, first and second laterally spaced and parallel leg portions provided by said generally U-form mounting portion of said support element, the article-supporting arm being carried by the outer end of the first leg extending outwardly away in an upward direction from the plane of the bight portion of said support element and at an obtuse angle to the plane of the latter, the second leg of said U-portion being of circular crosssection and rotatably projected into and retained in the first upright member face at a distance from the right angularly disposed second upright member face which is less than the distance between said parallel U-member legs whereby to pivotally attach the support element to the upright member with the first leg of the U-member rockable to and from fiat and substantially contiguous supporting engagement with the second support member face and with the article-supporting arm disposed substantially normal to the plane of the second support member face, the length of said second U-portion provided leg being at least as long as the first leg but of a length less than the thickness of said upright member, said second leg having a pointed free end for penetration into said fibrous upright member, and the bight portion of said support element constituting a plane or straight striking surface for a hammer or mallet to locate said support element in operative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 280,639 Lipe July 3, 1883 377,772 Pierce Feb. 14, 1888 1,972,505 Wilson Sept. 4, 1934 3,013,759 Close Dec. 19, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 79,605 Switzerland Dec. 16, 1918 89,053 Sweden Apr. 20, 1937 675,532 Great Britain July 9, 1952 

